For the month of October 2010, I will attempt to eat only things that I have grown, harvested and preserved from our garden.
2010 is our second year living at Sweet Local Farm. My wife, Karen, and I have put every free hour that we have into developing our garden and caring for our land and the animals we’ve raised on it. Our goal this year was to simply “grow as much food as we can.” It’s been an experiment of sorts, and I’m happy to report that our achievements have far surpassed our expectations.
While Karen has been home pregnant with our first child, she has been harvesting and preserving non-stop. I help whenever I can on the nights and on the weekends, but with her Martha Stewart drive and her Jamie Oliver skills, she is truly setting the stage for me to even consider taking on this challenge. Check out this full menu list to see what our hours of labor have produced.
In addition to the items that are coming straight from our garden, I am allowing myself a few ‘cheat’ items to help with the challenge. Now before you get all in a tif, check out what these items are: flour, olive oil, salt, local honey, coffee and homebrew. I did manage to source local salt (Maine Sea Salt Company) and flour (Four Star Farms). If anybody wants to call me out on why I shouldn’t include any of these cheat items in my food challenge, I’m all ears. Oh…and if you suggest that I don’t drink my own homebrew…we’re going to have issues!
There is no one reason why I’m doing this. I like a good challenge and I’m driven to find the higher purpose of my passion for gardening. Besides being a great personal test, my goals for this challenge include:
- Improving my health through eating only organic and fresh foods
- Educating myself and others on creative ways to utilize local harvests
- Reducing my consumption and reliance from external sources
- Reducing my environmental impact, and
- Becoming an example for others.
I want to show people that you don’t need to live in a shack in the middle of the woods to be more sustainable. Often, you hear stories of individuals attempting to ‘go off the grid’ as their solution for being green. My approach involves maintaining my professional lifestyle as much as possible while taking on this homegrown food challenge.
I do anticipate difficulties. I commute to Boston four days a week as a partner at Antler. Often, I stay over in the city to cut on my overall commuting time. Not to mention, many of my meetings take place at lunch spots or after work at bars. I’ve wondered how my clients will react when I ask them to join me in my office for a fresh salad rather than meet at the restaurant next door. Circumstances like this will involve much planning as well as changes to my daily routines and the cultural norms that I know.
The ‘homegrown food challenge’ is something that I hope to do for years to come. And even more important, I hope that my experiences can influence others to try the challenge themselves.
Ways others can get involved…
- Suggest recipes! Check out my menu items and send me interesting ideas for what I should make.
- Do it yourself! If you would like to take the challenge, even if it is for one day, share your stories with me. Simply go to the Home Grown Food Challenge Facebook page and tell us about your experience. You can also email me, post on my Facebook wall, direct message me on twitter or just comment below. If you don’t have your own garden, take the challenge to eat only locally sourced items.
- And finally, wish me luck. A little support can go a long way.
I’ll be doing daily updates, where I’ll discuss the interesting and unique food combinations I come up with as well as document the challenges I face. Stay posted as I ramp up for this effort.
Got any suggestions for me off the bat?
Join the conversation on the Home Grown Food Challenge facebook page.
